Born in 1954 in Canchungo, Cacheu Region,[2] Gomes attended the University of Paris VIII, where he received a degree in sociology and political science.

A former director-general at Televisão Experimental da Guiné-Bissau[2] (1990–1992),[citation needed] Gomes served as the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation[2][4] in a past government of President João Bernardo Vieira.

He was a long-time member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which he joined on 18 December 1973.

[5] Subsequently he was appointed to the government of PAIGC Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior as Minister of Territorial Administration, Administrative Reform, the Civil Service, and Labor on May 11, 2004,[4] but he refused to accept the appointment due to what he described as continued military influence over the government.

[6] Later, Gomes was one of the PAIGC leaders on hand to greet Vieira when he returned to Guinea-Bissau from exile on April 7, 2005,[7] and on May 8, 2005 he was suspended from the party (along with 36 other leading members)[8] for openly supporting Vieira's candidacy against the PAIGC's Malam Bacai Sanhá in the presidential election that took place in June and July 2005.

[15] After leaving office, Gomes faced a legal issue regarding 734 kilograms of drugs that disappeared while he was Prime Minister.